St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-04-16


| the lost! A few of them are gathered
into our Sabbath-schools, what about The
10000 destitute children of New York, anc
the score of thousands of destitute chill
dren of Brooklyn, around whom arc
thrown no benign, and Heavenly, anc
Christian Influences! 1t is tremendou:
question, what is to become of the dcsti
tute children of these cities! We must
either act on them or they will act on us
We must either Christianizc them or they
will heathenize US. 1t is question MOI
more for the Christian than for the phil
osopher and statesman.
Oh! If we could have all these suffering
little ones gathered together, what scene
of hunger, and wretchedncss, and rags,
and sin, and trouble, and darkness
If we could see those lite feet on
the broad road to death. which, through
Christian charity ought to be press
ing the narrow path of life; if we
could hear those voices in blasphemv,
which ought to be singing the praise OF
God; if we could see those little hearts,
which at that age ought not to be soiled
with one unclean thought, becoming the
sewers for every abOminatlOn; if we
could see these suffering little ones sacri-
feed on the altar of every ubiquitous pas
sion, and baptized with fire from the lava
of the pit, we would rccoil, crying out:
'AVaunt, thou dream of hell!'
They are not always going to be chill
drcn. They are coming up to be the men
and women Of this country That spark
of iniquity that might now be put out
with one drop Of the water Of life VIII be-
come the contiagraton of evsrv green
thing that God ever planted in the soul
That which ought to have been q temple
Of the Holy Ghost VIII become Scared
and bistered ruin-cvcry fight Quencled
and every altar in the dust. That petty
thief, who slips into your stores and
takes yard of your clOh from your
counter, Will become the highWayman of
the forest. or the burglar at midnight,
picking the lock of your money safe and
blowing up your store to hide the vlllainy
A great army, with staggering step, and
blOodShOt eye and drunken boot, they are
coming on-gathering recruits from every
grog- shop and den of infamy in the land,
to take the ballot box and hurrah at the
elections.
What are you going to do with this
abandoned population of the streets.
Viii you gather them in your churches:
1t IS not the will Of your Heavenly Father
that one of these little ones should perish
II you have ten respectable children in
your class, gather in ten that are not re-
spectacle. II in your Bible class there
Oe twenty young men who have
come from Christian homes and cie-
CANT surroundings, let those twenty young
men go out and gather in twenty more of
the young men of the city who are lost to
God and lost to society. This outside pop
unless educated AMI restrained,
Will work error in ages that are to come
Another characteristic Of a live church
is one with appropriate architecture. In
the far West and amid destitute popula-
tons log church is very appropriate
the people living in log houses. But in
where people live in com
Portable abodes, church Uncommodious
or lacking in beauty is a moral nuisance
Because Christ was born IN a Manager is no
reason why we should worship him in a
barn.
Let the churches of Jesus Christ be not
only comfortable, but ornate Years ago
we resolved to have com forta Bile church
w resolved that it should be amphitheat-
rlcal in shape. The prominent architects
OF the country, after figuring on the mat
ter good while, said that such a church
would not be churchly. and they would
have nothing to do with the enterprise.
But after awhile we found an architect
wiling to risk his reputation. He put up
for US the first tabernacle in amphitheat-
rcal style. We liked it. All who came
liked it. This building followed in the
same style. We believe it is appropriate
and adapted.
An angular church will have an angular
theology. The Church of Jesus Christ
ought to be great family circle the pull
pit only the replace around which they
are gathered in sweet and domestic com
But when our first tabernacle
went up, o the caricature and the scott
ng! They said:
ITS q hippodrome, It's holy circus!
It's Talmage's theater."
But the Lord came down with power
Upon that old building. and made it the
gate OF Heaven to great many. And this
building followed. That we were right in
)ersistlng in the style of architecture is
proved by the fact that there sixty or sew
'nty churches in the United States IN the
ame style. Indeed, our tabernacle has
evolutionized church architecture in this
COUNTRY. A live church must have a COM
nodious, a comfortable, an adapted build
ng.
How amiable are thy tabernacles, o Lord OF
iosts. would rather be doorkeeper in the
ouse of my God than to dwell in the tents of |
Eickedness
Again, the characteristic of a live |
hurch must be that il is a soul saving !
hurch. 1t must be the old Gospel of |
,hrist
"Oh, yes,' say some people; ''the Cos
eel OF Christ allows but small swing
or mans faculties, and some men have l.
9ft the ministry with that idea"
One such said to Rowland Hill:
Il have left the ministry because don't
rant to hide my talents any longer"
WELL" replied Rowland, II think the
lore you hide your talents the better'
"Why, there is no field on earth so grand
s that which is open before the gospel
linistry. Have you powers of analysis?